Under a Ceiling in Tehran
Teheran. 15-year old Mina lies to her mother to go to her boyfriend’s place for the first time. She needs to be back in time, when suddenly something unexpected happens.
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Runtime:29 minutes 20 seconds
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
Kimia Eyzad Panah ( born 1990 in Teheran, Iran) is an Iranian-German filmmaker.She wrote stories from an early age. At age 13 she already wrote science-fiction stories for the successful scientific schoolbook “Together with science“.
At age 15 Eyzad Panah shot her first short film „C for Cheating“ and was awarded the prize for “Best Film” at the Student Film Festival in Teheran.
In 2011, she emigrated to Germany. She received her master degree in Visual Communication, specializing in Film and Tv, from university of art in Kassel. Her short films focus on human- and women’s rights and were shown at international film festivals, being awarded prizes like “Outstanding Achievement Award” and “Best Women’s Film”.
I was born in Iran, a country, where a non-religious and therefor illegal relationship can cause a lot of difficulties, especially for teenagers.
10 years ago, when I was a teenager myself, I was naturally curious about the relationship to the opposite gender. I had a boyfriend I’d fallen in love with and we had to hide our amicable relationship in Iran. One day, he invited me to come to his apartment and I was so excited, I decided to skip school to go see him. I was very careful for none of the neighbors to see me. Still, I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that someone was watching me. And the stress we experienced that day was far from over… Still, it wasn’t the only time I went to see him!
I never forgot this experience, so I decided to shoot my adventure in form of a short film. In the film, two teenagers with very different family backgrounds spend a day together for the first time in an apartment in Teheran.
Calls, ringing doorbells and curious neighbors are only a few of many misunderstandings causing amusement as well as anxiety in both teenagers. In the course of their disputes and through the obstacles given by the social norms in Iran, they take their first steps towards adulthood, realizing that live is about being aware of others - and caring about them. It’s the understanding gained by this very first love, that live doesn’t mean “You“ and “Me“, but “We“.